1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to an emergency response system. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method of directing evacuation of a building by combining situation-aware data with knowledge about the context of an emergency condition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any type of building or structural enclosure capable of holding a number of people at any given time is generally required to have at least one evacuation route available to occupants. Such an evacuation route is a necessary safety precaution due to the remote, but ever-present threat of danger. The danger itself may appear as, for example, a fire, gas leak, or structural collapse. Environmental factors such as a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake may also create an emergency condition. Whatever the cause, in each instance it is necessary for the building to have a means of directing occupants to either exit the building via the appropriate evacuation route or take cover in a safe location.
The resources needed to guide occupants to safety are roughly proportional to the size, complexity, and occupational capacity of the building. Thus, it is especially crucial for sprawling, multi-room, multi-level, and/or high-rise buildings to be equipped with a suitable emergency response system. The system itself may be comprised of appropriately placed sensors or triggering devices which, when activated, may generate an audible alarm along with visual cues such as a flashing strobe light indicating that an emergency condition exists within the building. Depending upon the nature of the emergency, occupants may be directed to leave the building through the nearest marked exit. The evacuation route itself may be identified via auditory information such as instructions provided over a broadcast system and/or visual identifiers such as an exit sign or directional arrows.
Under normal conditions most evacuees will choose to exit via the closest and most familiar evacuation route. However, it is possible that an evacuation route may be unknown or inaccessible to an occupant. It is also possible that the route may become blocked or unsafe due to propagation of an emergency condition. Furthermore, during the evacuation process itself a large group of people may congregate in a certain direction or on a particular exit. This, in itself, can become hazardous, particularly if people are in a panicked state. Thus, the evacuation process is dynamic in the sense that the optimal route may constantly change depending upon the flow of people, evolution of the emergency condition, location of emergency personnel, and structural changes occurring within the building. However, during these situations building occupants do not have the situational awareness, contextual knowledge, or time to properly assess all available options to determine the optimal evacuation route.
It is therefore an object of this disclosure to provide an emergency response system which is capable of combining situation-awareness with contextual information to continuously and instantaneously provide evacuees with real-time directional information to guide them to a safe location.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide a method of evacuating a building during an emergency condition by following the directional output provided by the emergency response system.